Rumor: Apple's New "A7" Processor Slated for Launch in 2014

Apple's next-generation "A7" processor is rumored to be slated for volume production by the fourth quarter of this year. TSMC is expected to be the main supplier for Apple and this move is seen as strategy to reduce the company's reliance on Samsung.

According to DigiTimes, TSMC is expected to achieve tapeout for the new chip by the end of March this year, and move the chip's 20nm fabrication process into volume production by the first quarter of 2014. Details about the new 20nm ARM -based A7 chip are sketchy. MacRumors has reported that from now to the first quarter of 2014, Apple has other alternatives for its devices' lineup; they include smaller and more efficient versions of the existing A6 family that are based on a 28nm process, rather than the current 32nm one; or a new A7 chip built on the 28nm process before its migration to the 20nm process by 2014.